Primary
function: As the user scrolls the pen over any
printed material it will say the word out loud and also display it on
the screen. This pen helps to build fluency and comprehension skills. It
can translate Spanish to English while identifying synonyms,
definitions, and syllabication.
Cost: $229-$279
Version: Basic
Edition K-12
Supportive Information Required:
Device includes intuitive use friendly interface, online tutorial, and
user manual.
Justifications for and against purchase:
Positives: Helps both visual and auditory learners; includes a
headphone outlet so it will not disturb the rest of the class. It could
help students with breaking down new vocabulary and comprehension of
unfamiliar words. This product can benefit a wide range of students,
from those who only struggle with certain words to those cannot read
full sentences by themselves and even for those students with dyslexia.
This product allows them to be more independent because they are not
constantly asking for a teacher's help.
Negatives: The pen is very tricky to use, it must be held at a 90
degree angle. Most young learners have not understand this concept,
especially when using the pen without an adult. It can become difficult
or frustrating for students to both hold and pace correctly to scan the
text. Results may not occur if the pen is held incorrectly and moves too
quickly across the text. This tool is very precise, it must be held an
inch before text to receive correct results, cannot push to hard on the
text. The device does not read handwriting and may only work for certain
texts or fonts. It was not even able to read its own manual. I believe
this could be very beneficial just not for a young age group.
Testimonials: A
testimonial from a parent whose dyslectic child benefited from the reading
pen can be found
here
First hand
impression: A first when examining the product I
thought it was a great idea, but after I started to play around with it
I realized that it did not come up with accurate results and was fairly
difficult to use properly. Great potential just poorly executed.
Criteria
Excellent
Good
Poor
Comments
Usefulness
Helps students build
fluency and comprehension skills.
Cost
Pretty
expensive-especially for a school district with a limited
budget.
Manageability (Easy to
use)
The product is very
precise and needs exact positions and speeds for it to work
properly.
Portability
This pen is highly
portable and can be used anywhere there is text.
Overall Rating
.
This item has the
potential to be very useful in the classroom it just has a few
kinks that need to be worked our to make it more manageable and
affordable
